From the Abyss
by AMZ-C-Raven
Summary: Moon-Boy and Devil Dinosaur are attacked by a horrifying creature while making their way through a swamp.


**I do not own Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy. They are the intellectual property of Marvel Comics and were created by the late, great Jack Kirby.  
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**From the Abyss**

In a world not unlike our own prehistory, two very dissonant figures were making a trek throughout a lawless land in a bid simply to survive.

The first was a very hairy hominid, save for his face. His head and neck were ringed with a mane of thick, luxurious hair, even more prominent than the coating of fur that covered the rest of his body. He was Moon-Boy of the Small-Folk, long since having been cast out of his original society in the Valley of Flame and choosing instead to wander his world in search of something he could not quite determine.

His companion, however, was a 15-foot-tall blood red reptile. He was as fearsome as he was uncanny, with a large maw full of sharp teeth and razor-sharp claws on his hands and feet. He was Devil Dinosaur, and despite all odds, he and Moon-Boy were good friends, despite the chasm of a language barrier and the natural instincts of eat or be eaten. The hominid had saved the creature at birth, costing him the trust of his fellow humans but creating a bond instead with the reptile which could never be broken.

Circumstance had thrown the duo together, and they had weathered living on his planet where life was nasty, brutish and short. They were damn proud to not just have survived, but to have survived together. They were never sure where they would end up next, but they knew that whatever they endured they would endure together.

It was late in the afternoon in what had been an excruciatingly hot day on the lonesome savannah. The sun was just beginning to show signs of mercy as the two figures made their way past a large hill and into a valley that seemed markedly different from anywhere they had yet been.

A vast and putrid swamp stood before them, shielded by the hills that ringed the valley. Ash grey willow trees gave the are an unnatural darkness, preventing even the harsh sunlight from effectively penetrating the swampland. A stench of sulfur and something unknown hung in the air.

Moon-Boy had been perched on the dinosaur's shoulders, and now looked down at his friend.

"Are you sure you want to go this way?"

As if punctuating his words, a murder of rook-birds took flight from the trees further in the distance. A living shadow erupting into the sky, the black birds swirled in the air before moving en masse to another location. They moved almost soundlessly, save for the eerily subtle noise of hundreds of wings cutting through the air.

Devil simply emitted a grunt, and Moon-Boy understood immediately. He shrugged.

"If you insist. After you."

The duo continued on.

After walking for almost a half an hour, the trees gave way to more open land, but no less putrid and unusual than the swamp they had been traversing moments before. Large wet mounds of mud dotted the landscape, while a crusty, gritty earth separated each mound. The mound bubbled with a noxious liquid, occasionally spurting incredibly hot bursts into the air.

Moon-Boy tapped Devil on the nose again. "Same question, my friend."

The grunt came yet again. Shrugging yet again, the hairy biped said nothing this time, moving as his companion did.

Dusk was finally upon the duo, and the heat of the day began to dissipate into the sky. A chill underscored their movements as twilight gave the world an eerie blue tinge. Moon-Boy gathered they still had a fair amount of daylight left, and was confident in his reptilian friend's abilities that they would be out of this bizarre place before they would have to set up camp for the evening.

The trees of the swamp were no longer surrounding them as oppressively as before, standing on the sidelines as they moved along. The duo moved between the mud mounds, taking great care to avoid their toxic geysers. They found themselves in a bit of a predicament as they came before what seemed to be the largest of the mud volcanoes, jutting from the earth like an absurd pyramid, a testament to the disgusting. It seemed to weep a sulfuric liquid from multiple pores as it pulsated, rhythmically spasming as mud and sulfur spat from its bowl-shaped opening just barely hidden from the duo's 15-foot advantage.

The two figures watched the mud volcano in a sort of awe, unsure of what to make of it. Just as they were about to continue on their way, the pulsing became more frequent, the mound becoming misshapen and distended. Devil Dinosaur began to bolt, Moon-Boy rolling off his back and hitting the ground running as well. Gurgling and bubbling, the great beast behind them seemed to deflate as they took cover behind a lesser volcano. Without warning, the massive cone exploded, shredding itself to pieces and sending incredibly hot blobs of mud and foul-smelling liquids in every direction.

Moon-Boy looked up at Devil Dinosaur, but neither could say a word. They emerged slowly from behind their cover, careful to avoid the pools of bubbling liquid dotting the ground. They looked over at the remains of the mud volcano and were astonished at what they saw embedded in the remnants of the mound.

At first Moon-Boy thought they were roots, but they slowly began to move. They were very long, spindly appendages, taut and rubbery and a sickly pale green colour that made Moon-Boy think of sickness, pus and death. Devil Dinosaur began to walk towards the hissing mound.

"What are you doing?" whispered Moon-Boy harshly, and his friend ignored him. Moon-Boy cursed under his breath and leapt from his cover spot, running ahead of the lumbering reptile.

A large, bulbous head began to emerge from the oozing hill, pulled by the massive tentacles. Moon-Boy grimaced as what could be considered the being's face emerged, humongous eyes with oddly shaped hourglass pupils and a long, serrated beak that reminded him of the colourful tropical birds he and Devil had seen along the southern coast. The creature was able to use the tentacles to stand upright when it finally pulled itself free and slowly began to face the duo.

"Devil, we need to go... This is a struggle we don't need."

The red reptile continued to stumble towards the creature, and Moon-Boy finally realized something very wrong was occurring.

"Devil! What are you doing?" He began to run towards his friend, leaping and landing on Devil's tail. The reptile reared back and snapped its head from side to side as if waking from a terrible dream. He looked back towards Moon-Boy, a strange and confused look deep in his eyes.

Without warning, two of the being's tentacles shot towards Devil's head, causing him to rear backwards, jaws snapping in the direction of the threat. Moon-Boy tucked and rolled as he let go of his friend's tail, skidding across the ground.

Devil let out an intense growl and began to step menacingly towards the attacker. He snapped his jaws in its direction, tentacles flitting around his head and darting away at the last second. The creature moved backward smoothly like it was moving in water, riding on a writhing mass of tentacles. It snapped its beak forward with frightening speed, missing the dinosaur's eye by inches. Devil replied by biting what he considered to be the monster's neck, a section of its head below the eyes and beak.

The creature let out an eerie, high-pitched shriek as an awful taste filled Devil's mouth. This was followed by an intense burning sensation erupting along the dinosaur's gums and tongue. Devil reared back and emitted a guttural noise before slowly presenting a defensive stance.

Several of the monster's tentacles were massaging the bleeding teeth marks in the being's side as it began to move backwards again, slowly this time. A rolling clicking noise emerged from the creature as it slid rapidly towards Moon-Boy, upon him in seconds. Before he could escape he was wrapped up in the being's tentacles, a searing burn coming upon his exposed skin caused him to scream. His cry of pain was cut abruptly short as his eyes rolled back in his head and he slowly began to turn towards his friend.

"Want you. Not him. Kill him. Want you." Moon-Boy's voice was a low croak.

The dinosaur looked very perplexed.

"Want you. Jaws and teeth. Not him. Fur and bone. Kill him. Want you. Jaws and teeth. Kill fur. Want jaws."

Devil's eyes grew wide for a moment, and slowly crouched into a defeated stance. The creature's tentacles swiftly slithered off of Moon-Boy's body and he crumpled to the ground, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth and red marks covered his cheeks and hands.

The monster slid towards Devil and climbed upon his neck and back, wrapping itself firmly around his body. When finished its head rested comfortably at the base of his neck.

Devil Dinosaur began to stumble past the remains of the volcano and make his way further along the path he and his friend were originally traveling. As he walked his steps became more confident and more assured, his pace quickening to an almost supernatural pace.

Moon-Boy slowly came to, feeling as bad as he could ever remember. A sharp pain throbbed from the front of his head and he groaned as he slowly stood up, spitting mud and blood on the ground. Images swirled inside his head like coloured inks in water. Blacks and reds and serrated sensations slowly gave way to very clear images. He saw Devil Dinosaur walking very slowly, almost dreamlike. He suddenly realized it was his friend walking underwater. The monster was attached to the back of his head, larger, lumpier than he remembered. He realized that his friend had been walking underwater for a very long time and was simply a meat puppet palanquin for the thing on his back. He was left with a final horrifying image: dozens of smaller monsters erupting from his friend's stomach and throat, devouring him within minutes.

Moon-Boy fought the urge to vomit and swiftly began to move past the ruined mud volcano. He saw his friend almost running down the path, the ocean in sight but still a few miles off. The hominid ran after his friend at full tilt, leaping and springing off of rocks and mounds to close the gap between himself and the possessed Devil. His heart thudded in his chest as he approached the red beast.

"Devil! Devil! You've got to-" A flick of Devil's tail slammed into Moon-Boy's ribcage, tossing him towards the line of dying willows that grew along the path. He grunted in pain and stood again, running ahead of his friend.

"Devil! I know you can hear me!"

A sound he had never heard from Devil before came from his throat and he jerked forward, his jaws gnashing clumsily at his friend. Claws began to swing dangerously close to Moon-Boy as he was forced to dive away, wincing at the pain from his ribs.

Crab-walking beside the red dinosaur, Moon-Boy attempted to climb onto his back, but a quick lash from the creature's tentacle sent him crashing to the ground. Devil turned slowly and began to move menacingly towards his downed friend.

Moon-Boy saw the confused and terrified look Devil's eyes as he approached, his jaws still snapping wildly but with more coordination than before. The hominid's breath left him as he weakly raised his left arm over his face and braced for the end.

"At least it was you, friend." Moon-Boy whispered.

But the end never came. Moon-Boy could hear the strange slapping sounds of his friend's jaws snapping, but his teeth never penetrated the man's body. He lowered his arm and saw an absolutely terrified Devil struggling with himself, emitting odd and high-pitched grunts and groans as he tried not to lunge at his friend.

Without warning, Devil became completely still. With an odd clicking sound, Devil turned and strode again towards the beach.

Moon-Boy laid on the ground watching his friend walk towards his doom. He slowly brought himself to a sitting position, groaning in pain. He shook his head slowly, yearning for a solution. Drawing a deep breath, he brought himself to his feet.

He heard the familiar caws of the rook-birds very close by. Curious, he walked towards the willows and came across a large mass of the birds having a feast of a dead quadruped, very large but very decomposed in the putrid swamp. The stench was overwhelming and Moon-Boy held his nose.

He looked to the bank of the swamp and saw a dead hominid wrapped in a shawl, also severely decomposed. Moon-Boy's brow furrowed in thought.

* * *

><p>Further along the path Devil and the creature continued to make their way towards the ocean. Devil was making good time, according to the monster. It estimated they would reach the ocean by dusk the next day. Devil was already starting to tire, but the creature did not care. His body was a bone carriage, and would take the being as far as was necessary to complete its task. The creature was beginning to swell, the eggs inside of it already beginning to mature and grow. It knew it still had plenty of time before they would arrive at the birthing fields and its children would come into this world with a ravenous appetite.<p>

The creature was very pleased with itself. It did not take long for a fitting meal to heed its psychic beacon. It had been a very long time since it had been to the birthing fields, and knew instinctively that the state of suspended animation it had just emerged from could have been any length of time. It was terrified it would emerge someplace barren and cold. Things could not have worked out better.

An chilling roar tore through the silence and brought the thing's attention back to reality.

The creature's eyes snapped open, its line of vision slightly disrupted by the distending eggpods coming from its lower body. It could make out the image of the worthless Fur-thing from before slowly tumbling to the ground, its arms extended in front of it, some weird flap of skin connecting its hands somehow.

It became aware of something wet hitting its body and face, covering its eyes with total redness. Blobs and sharp chunks of something covered its rubbery skin, and the creature was forced to stop Devil as its tentacles tried desperately to clean its eyes.

Sharp pains began to erupt all over the monster's body, its eyes still struggling to see what was going on as the tentacles writhed all over its body now. It could feel pieces and hunks of its body tearing off and it began to shriek. As its left eye finally regained vision it saw a jet black razor-sharp beak for a half-second before its the eye was plucked from its body.

The shriek began to soar in intensity, causing Moon-Boy to cover his ears. Devil was ducking and rising randomly as the beast on his back tried in vain to keep the dozens of hungry rook-birds from feasting on the tasty carrion coating its body. The birds were very careless as large chunks of flesh tore from the creature's body. The birds had little interest in the living flesh.

Moon-Boy looked at the shawl in his hands and nodded slowly. It made a great makeshift sling. He felt bad having to use a fellow hominid in such a way, but he knew he had no choice. This was for the greater good.

The creature rolled off of Devil's back, hitting the ground with a wet slap. Its body twitched as that familiar rolling click emanated from its body, a quivering tone suggesting fear like music to Moon-Boy's ears.

The birds flew off having eaten their fill of the dead flesh off of the beast's body. It slowly began to right itself, having landed on its face. Its tentacles began to shake and the monster fell to the ground again with an eerie groan. It opened its remaining good eye just long enough to see a large clawed foot hovering over it. It tried to shriek once more but it was silenced quickly with a sickening popping sound like a massive bursting blister.

Devil let out a low groan as he raised his foot, the green and red mass beneath him oozing slowly into the mud.

Moon-Boy slowly made his way towards his friend and patted him softly on the side.

"Let us go, friend. Better to leave this far, far behind. We'll follow the coast and see where we end up."

Devil stared at the hominid in understanding and they slowly began to make their way towards the beach.

Moon-Boy turned back as he heard a familiar subtle cutting in the air. The rook-birds had returned to finish their meal.

**The End**


End file.
